A common method of coating household or industrial gloves is by flocking, or blowing natural cotton or synthetic fibers by using air or static discharge, onto a thickened dipped adhesive layer of polymer latex bonded onto a first layer of another polymer latex gel. Other methods include mounting former-shaped woven fabric onto metal or ceramic formers and dipping polymer latex onto the woven-fabric layer.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,098,755 claims a method of producing adherent polyurethane coatings on latex rubber substrates. A flock layer is deposited on the polyurethane coating prior to curing by any suitable method, such as mechanically or electrostatically. The flock is impinged onto the coating in such a way that mixing of the flock fibers with the polymer or embedding of the fibers or full penetration thereof into the polymer coating is avoided. Thus, while the fibers may be oriented normal to the coating surface, or oriented in a different fashion, the fibers are engaged only by the surface portion of the coating.
A modification of the flocking technique is described in GB 1,102,342, which includes a non-dipping process for manufacture of elongated binder particles of polymeric materials. The process is performed by adding natural or synthetic fibers into a dispersion of polymeric materials, freezing the aqueous dispersion of the polymeric material, and thawing the frozen dispersion to obtain particles of the polymeric material. The particles of polymeric material then bind the natural or synthetic fibers together against a porous surface when suction is applied. The porous surface is a paper-making screen and the fibrous web formed is then pressed and calendered.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,416 discloses a method of forming a thin-walled article, namely a surgical glove. The glove includes a first elastomer layer of polyurethane formed by dip-coating using a rough-surfaced former to provide outer surface grip for the glove.
GB 1,091,523 discloses a method of making a composite flock-coated mat. The steps of the method include: coating the surface of a flexible base sheet with a curable natural or synthetic rubber latex adhesive, electrostatically depositing flock on the adhesive, drying the adhesive, placing the flock-coated section on an electrically-heated vacuum mold and applying vacuum so that the section is drawn into position, curing the base sheet and adhesive, and attaching molded mats comprising a natural or synthetic composition to the flock-coated section.
It is common for a wearer of industrial or household gloves to experience excessive sweat soaking. Thus, industrial or household gloves are less comfortable when worn for longer periods of time. Current unflocked and flock-lined gloves in the market fall into these categories. Although flock-lined gloves provide better surface comfort than unflocked gloves, the sweat absorption by and evaporation from this type of glove is still relatively poor. Additionally, flock coverage is sometimes inconsistent in conventional flock linings.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a fibrous polymer coated surface that cools through evaporation, is able to absorb and hold moisture as it evaporates from this surface, and cools the wearer while keeping the wearer dry. Therefore, a method is needed for producing gloves of the sort used in household or industrial applications for increased comfort with respect to improved sweat management to the user.